On the Fatherhood of Bishops With Disposable Priests

“Father Jim” is a senior priest suspended under terms of the Dallas Charter, barred from ministry and from defending his good name due to a claim from 1972.

Editor’s Note: The following guest post by “Father Jim” was received as a comment on a recent post at These Stone Walls. Due to its length and subject matter, we are posting it as a guest post with Father Jim’s permission, but we have shielded his identity because his case is still pending at the Holy See.

Father Gordon MacRae recently wrote of a terrible tragedy in the post, “Jesus Wept: The Death of Father Kenneth Walker, FSSP” on his blog, These Stone Walls. In that post he asked a truly provocative question. Allow me to respond to it in light of priests falsely accused of sexual abuse, the exact situation that has confined Father Gordon to prison for almost twenty years. His question was:

“Has Catholic culture in America become so comfortable with the notion of the last two decades that its priests should be little more than expendable targets with no ability or right for self-defense?”

I believe most priests in the United States unfortunately know the answer to that question. No one talks about it openly, but it can be sensed in the low morale and anxiety among priests. It can be traced directly to a failure of leadership in the American Catholic episcopacy that places public relations and public respect as higher priorities than the truth and the innocence of many good and faithful priests by their bishops’ wholesale embrace of the Dallas Charter. In effect, our bishops have betrayed their pastoral role in loving and caring for their priests as a father loves and cares for his sons. They have allowed themselves to be intimidated by human opinion and political correctness, placing their trust more in lawyers than the Gospel of Jesus who calls us to lay down our very lives for the ones we love.

Can any bishop today promise a young man who becomes a priest that if he is falsely accused, he will be defended and protected as a son has the right to expect from his father? Or is the priest truly on his own? Have bishops traded their role as father for CEO status concerned only with cutting liabilities? Could this possibly be another reason for the decline in priestly vocations and the laity’s encouragement of their sons toward the priestly vocation? What father among you would knowingly place his son in such a situation?

I believe I am correct in asserting that ordination has not taken away one’s citizenship. If a priest is an American citizen then he should be afforded his legal rights under the United States Constitution that he is innocent until proven guilty. That is his right. Neither the Church nor its adversaries should have the power to deny him that right. This clearly is not the reality today.

If a priest is proven with sufficient evidence to be guilty in a court of law, he should go to jail. Prove it, don’t presume it! Sexual abuse is a terrible thing; but so are false accusations and extortion. When was the last time you have heard anything in the media (or from your diocese for that matter) concerning false accusations? When has a bishop been open with his people on how the Dallas Charter is being implemented and its impact upon priests and finances of the Diocese?

What is happening in the present situation is priests are presumed guilty in claims that are so old that they could never be proven. Priests are presumed guilty without the benefits of civil trials thus allowing lives to be destroyed and dioceses forced into bankruptcy, facilitating and allowing opportunists and greedy lawyers to walk away with millions. Can anyone deny this? What is going on cannot be justified either by the Gospel of the Lord or the Constitution of the United States. Shame on a hierarchy that has orchestrated it and a sometimes passive laity that has allowed it and failed in its love for many priests who have given and dedicated their lives to serve them. I believe that the late Avery Cardinal Dulles had it right when he intimated that the institutional American Church will one day be forced to face what it has done to its priests and come to regret it.

Cardinal Dulles further opined that even in those cases where true sex abuse has taken place and one has fully confessed and taken responsibility, a certain amount of hypocrisy still abounds when it comes to priests.

In November 2000 the US Bishops published Responsibility and Rehabilitation critiquing the American criminal justice system. They upheld the dignity of the accused, rejected slogans like “three strikes and you’re out,” and “one size fits all solutions.” They promoted efforts to ensure that the punishment fits the offense. The bishops did not support mandatory sentencing using rigid formulations and they preached that “we must welcome ex-offenders back into society to the extent possible.” Since 2002 “the US bishops have adopted the very principles they themselves condemned in their critique of the secular judicial system,” according to Cardinal Dulles (“The Rights of Accused Priests,” America, June 21, 2004, Avery Cardinal Dulles).

What is truly offensive is the mindless acceptance of the concept of “zero tolerance” to satisfy and assuage critics. How does one reconcile this policy with the teachings of Christ? Vengeance and retribution have been afforded a higher value than forgiveness, mercy following remorse, when it comes to priests accused of sex abuse. Doesn’t the Church have a greater obligation to mirror the mind of Christ than to succumb to the ways of the world, even when dealing with its own priests?

How does a priest who is falsely accused deal with the situation? His response must center, and center completely, on his relationship with Jesus Christ. Does the falsely accused priest believe that the story of Jesus is his own story? That what this priest is going through is nothing less than the passion, death and resurrection again of the Lord who dwells within him? He experiences the full impact of The Gospel of Matthew 27: 39-43:

“And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself….He trusts in God, let God deliver Him now…’“

Taunted and mocked just as Christ was, the falsely accused priest undergoes the same human feelings and emotions of humiliation, rejection, unjust condemnation and judgment. It is only his faith and hope empowered by the Holy Spirit that sustains him through this surreal ordeal. Without this empowerment one could only anticipate despair.

The Gospel of John 19:25 tells us that it was only His Mother and a few disciples who kept vigil with Christ in Our Savior’s loneliness and isolation. So it is with the victimized priest who can count on the Mother of God and just a few dear souls to faithfully remain.

The story of Jesus becomes the story of the betrayed, innocent priest.

The original question that generated this reflection centers on the “comfort level” that many have with the expendability of innocent priests. I suggest that the bishops and society expect a priest’s heart and soul to be so magnanimous that he is willing to die for the very ones who are killing him. Who has a right to such an expectation? The bishop who throws his priest-son beneath the bus? The laity who are often too stunned to do anything or speak out? May I suggest that such an expectation belongs to God alone who empowers the priest to love unconditionally without any assurance of human reciprocity – to love unconditionally even those who unjustly took His good name, even those who unjustly put Him behind bars based on a lie.

It is beyond human comprehension and a marvelous work of grace that a priest is capable of offering all his suffering and pain for the salvation of the very souls of those responsible for his very personal, very real tragedy and betrayal.

These innocent priests are the true living martyrs of the Church today.

About Fr. Gordon J. MacRae

The late Cardinal Avery Dulles and The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus encouraged Father MacRae to write. Cardinal Dulles wrote in 2005: “Someday your story and that of your fellow sufferers will come to light and will be instrumental in a reform. Your writing, which is clear, eloquent, and spiritually sound will be a monument to your trials.” READ MORE

Comments

Thank you so much for writing this post, To tell you the truth, I have been once again silenced by the enormity of the injustice of the Dallas Charter. It has taken me weeks to absorb your post… The American Bishops ( I do not live in the States), have much to answer for. They have thrown innocent priests under the bus.

Father Gordon quoted Suzanne in his post on the 5th anniversary of These Stone Walls: she said she wanted to “alert faithful Catholics about the post-Dallas Charter witch hunt that has stripped many innocent priests of their reputations, social and economic support, shelter, liberty…and hope”. And to that I would also add that the American bishops, by destroying their priests, and by destroying the trust that priests should have in their bishops, cause the laity to also suffer, as access to the Eucharist, to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, will be limited as a result. After all, how many good men would want to become priests, given what has happened?

Fr. Jim, you are in my prayers and I especially pray that your appeal will be successful. May you be restored, and also may restitution, as much as possible be made to you.

Yet another Priest kicked to the curb! I’m not sure, but I believe Texas is at the top of a List in the USA, for the Network”s members & Bullies. The very fact, that the “CHARTER” , comes out of Dallas, via University of Dallas, (Locally referred to as “The Lavender Campus”) is a kick in the teeth to Orthodox Priests! I don’t Care if Priests & Bishops from other States came to Texas to “Help”! You can be sure they were hand picked by the Network. Fr. John Corapi knew what he would be facing if he returned to Texas! Funny, I watched a Crime Drama where the Police Officers interrogating someone they believed was guilty, threatened to send the man back to Texas to wait in a Texas Prison for a trial…& possibly be tried & imprisoned here permanently!! It Worked!! The man confessed…..1 small problem, he was innocent of that crime. He did however, have a warrant out, in Texas…….

A poignant post that tells the sad story of our all too human frailty. Like the original disciples some bishops of been overcome by fear and timidity. Perhaps next Pentecost we should all pray that they regain some of the courage that filled the hearts of those frightened apostles.

The subject of falsely accused clergy raises in my mind the uncomfortable thought of my own sins and failures, realizing they can affect somehow my brothers and sisters in a negative way.

After all the previous comments there is little to add here. There comes up at least one additional question: could not the highest authority in our Catholic Church do something about this great injustice?

A comment on obedience. Since God is the true foundation of all the laws that are worthy of being obeyed, the Dallas Charter and other dispositions that are not truly in accordance with God’s Mercy and Justice are on the wrong track: “It is necessary to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). You may want to check this link: http: //www.corrisponzenzaromana.it/international-news/lex-dubia-non-obligat-the-case-of-the-franciscans-of-the-immaculate/ (it is in English, also available in Italian and Spanish there) where a well founded explanation of what kind of obedience God wants can be found. As a bonus track you will be put in contact –in case you were not already aware- with another outrageous injustice within the Catholic Church, the persecution against the order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate by the current Roman hierarchy of the Church.

Let us all pray for the innocent victims involved here: laypersons, clergy and religious. Also, for those who can move a finger to change matters for the better and are not doing it, in sum for all of us.

Saint John Paul the Great once said, “The Church must be a mirror of justice.” I believe that he today inspires men like Father Gordon MacRae and Father Jim to write with the clear force of truth, and with the shield of fidelity, to raise the conscience of the Church. If they are to be martyrs, let them be martyrs for the Cross, not for some shady contingency lawyer whose new car this year depends on a repressed memory. Let them be martyred for their witness, not for some Church bureaucrat who has surrendered his role as shepherd to be a risk managing CEO. Let them be martyred for their profession of faith, not for the evil silence imposed upon them by an unjust law like the Dallas Charter. Father Jim, you are a priest forever, but you are a greater witness to the truths of our faith today than ever before in your priesthood. Now it is up to us. Let’s send links to this post to our email lists as I have just done. Let’s post it on Facebook, and to our Twitter accounts for those who have one. Let Father Jim’s courage be spread like a viral plea for mercy and justice in this age of contempt for our priests. And let’s most of all practice Father Jim’s example: Semper fidelis.

Thank you, Fr. Gordon, for printing Fr. Jim’s letter! He stated very clearly what some of us have written to our archbishop, Abp. Nienstedt, regarding his severe treatment of over half the priests in this archdiocese who had any kind of “complaint” in their file. Please pass along to Fr. Jim that people who’ve worked in the Church in a professional capacity see clearly what’s happening & are doing what they can to stop it. Unfortunately, our letters & phone calls are never answered or returned. We are ignored just like the priests who are being sacrificed on the altar of public opinion.

All of you are in our prayers. I will forward Fr. Jim’s letter to all my priest-friends.

As you mention, Fr. Jim, if someone has committed the terrible crime, and worse sin, of sexual abuse of a minor, then they should be tried and punished for it, both civilly and ecclesiastically. Isn’t it a shame that, in the current climate, one must make the disclaimer that in criticizing what is happening in the Church with regard to clergy (let’s not forget that there are deacons and bishops involved) accused of sexual abuse, one is NOT trying to defend guilty clerics, one is NOT trying to downplay the seriousness of this crime. One IS arguing for the integrity of the Church’s law and of her moral precepts, which include justice and mercy. One IS arguing for the credibility of the Church.

With that out of the way, perhaps it ought to be pointed out, in all the finger-pointing going on, that no one seems to be criticizing the civil authorities for their negligence in prosecuting these crimes. One cannot claim that each and every instance of abuse was unknown to civil authorities. So, if Church leaders were negligent in not reporting these crimes, so, too, were civil authorities negligent in letting suspected abusers get away. No one is calling for their resignation, or their prosecution. A double standard? Yes.

Speaking of double standards, the list continues. Fr Jim, you already mentioned the USCCB’s statement on prison reform and how hypocritical it is to denounce mandatory sentencing all the while defending vigorously a ‘one strike, you’re out’ policy with regard to accused priests. Bishops display the same double standard when they rail against civil jurisdictions attempting to abolish statutes of limitation for suing the Church in clergy abuse cases all the while seeking dispensations from Church law for similar statutes of limitation as they try to ‘de-frock’ priests. And no one mentions that the special laws enacted for dioceses in the United States – the Essential Norms – do not apply to bishops but only to priests and deacons.

Yes, I respect the fact that the Pope is the one who has authority to discipline bishops and prosecute their crimes but it certainly is a thorn in one’s side to see the Ordinary of St. Paul-Minneapolis remain in office despite, now two, accusations of sexual impropriety. It is small comfort to know that the former Nuncio to the Dominican Republic is no longer a bishop, while having no word that his crimes are being tried in civil jurisdiction, Vatican City or otherwise. It is a thorn to see that Cardinal O’Brien, disgraced by self-admission of homosexual acts, is living quietly in a countryside house purchased by his former diocese for his exclusive use: are accused priests, now out of ministry, given such comfy exit packages?

But I suppose even those contradictions wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that all of this is taking place, as you say Fr. Jim, merely for money and reputation. Of course, saying that is a dirty word. You simply are not allowed to say it out loud. But we all know that the real motivation of pretending to eradicate sin from the Church – as if that could ever be possible – is more about money and episcopal credibility than it is about healing the victims and punishing the guilty. And let no one, no one, lead you to believe that the law of the Church has not always had in place mechanisms with which to deal with sexual abuse.

There’s a reason why the Church has enacted laws about it since the 4th century: it ain’t something new. What was new, was the complete disregard that the Church’s pastors had for law. We wouldn’t be in this situation if bishops had done their jobs, and done them properly. It’s not our fault: they were our predecessors in office, they say. Well, punish them: remove their episcopal dignity. But, we are left trying to clean up the mess, they say. Read: re-establish our credibility and moral authority. Did anyone ever think that those might be restored more quickly and assuredly by paying attention to the victims? By preaching the moral teachings of the Church and insisting on their fulfillment? By being who you’re supposed to be?

Of course, the world and the faithful have been duped into thinking that the Church is really punishing the guilty priests. Nothing could be further from the truth. What is happening instead is something that no other entity could get away with, that no other person, certainly no member of SNAP, would tolerate in regard to themselves: that mere accusation is equated with guilt.

The church is not punishing the guilty, in any true juridic sense of the word; it is punishing those who have been unlucky enough to be accused, falsely or not. This is not the place to go into a detailed description of the processes now being used, but we clergy certainly know what it is about. No one would respect a prosecutor and judge who sentenced a person to prison merely because someone said they committed a crime and came in to make a statement. No one would tolerate, in her own case, a special administrative procedure for the judge to determine guilt merely by consulting a few other officials. But it happens in the Church. And many are applauding it. No member of SNAP would tolerate her own incarceration for slander and detraction on the internet. How easy is it to create aliases? She didn’t write that. The evidence is too old to prove that she wrote that. She would demand a fair process. But they don’t mind that the Church doesn’t have a fair and transparent process for accused priests.

It’s mind-numbing what is going on. And no one cares because the Church is an easy target. The faithful just don’t believe that bishops would do such a thing. If Father is removed from ministry, then the bishop must know what he is doing and have real proof, they opine over coffee after Mass. Not any more, Mrs. Mcgillicuddy! Time to shake your head and open your eyes. It’s a different world in the Church now. Do Thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.

I’m sorry to say that “The Faithful just don’t believe that Bishops would do such a thing” is wrong. My sister & I became veritble Thorns in the side of many here in Texas for 35-40 yrs. We were forced with a few others, to stand by & watch as our beloved Church was filled with Heresy & Homosxuality run rampant! The Laity KNEW it! They didn’t CARE!! We were the old, pre Vat II Nuts!!! But, to be fully truthfull, we failed our priests & bishops, because we knew what was happening & should have prayed & fasted, Constantly! So, now, whenever I meet a new Priest, I apologise to him for our failure. May God have Mecy on us all!

This comment was just sent to me by a priest friend in response to this post: ” Amen. Amen! Amen!!! All we see today is a result of playing to the gospel of public opinion and retribution, not the Gospel of Christ. Leadership through hypocrisy. (I’d call them SOB’s, but I’d then have to go to confession.)”

Thank you, Fr. Jim, for writing this post. You have expressed so perfectly what so many of us who have beloved friends suffering the same fate as you, know in our hearts. You men are the true martyrs, and the Bishops and Archbishops who should be looking out for you and protecting you as a true father, have only been concerned with getting rid of the problem, and protecting themselves. It is so sad that even if the priest were guilty as charged, or because of passage of time would be impossible to prove, he isn’t lovingly helped as any father would help and continue to love his son. These men have given their whole life in blessed, loving service, and then they are cast aside as part of the “throw away society that we live in!” I just attended the memorial service of one such priest today. The church was filled with people from all over that he had served so faithfully. To them, he was still Fr.(……….). The church may have taken his title away, but they didn’t take that title out of the hearts of the people who Fr. had helped through the years of his ministry. As I prayed for him today, and continue to pray for so many others that I truly love and admire, for they, as you, are living the passion of Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit staying close to the Lord. Ministry is different, but all of these men are so giving. When you meet them, you know they are still priests in every sense of the word. As Liz pointed out:”you are a priest forever and the mark on your soul is permanent no matter what happens on earth.” You, Fr. Jim, will be added to my long list of priests that I pray for daily. Prayers, especially for you, Fr. Gordon. Thanks for sharing Fr. Jim’s comment with us.

Dearest Father Jim
I have added you to my prayer list along with Father Gordon and a very dear Priest friend of mine, who has been falsely accused, not by a child, but by his own community. It is utterly appalling for all 2 of you. And, it appears to be happening more and more. The only thing I can say is you are ALL under spiritual warfare and satan is on a major attack. Inside and outside of the Church! Why are we so blinded to the truth? Why were those of Jesus’ day just as blind??? I can’t answer that, however, I can and plan on speaking out for all 3 of you. Cover yourself with the armor if our God! Pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy everyday! And, ask Sr. Michael and your Guardian Angel to assist and protect you. You will continually be in my prayers . Vengeance is Mine says The Lord and it is coming!!! God bless you and keep you. May His Face shine upon you and may He hold all 3 of you, in the palm of His Hand, “one day at a time”. Don’t give up it is all coming to a head and resolution!

Father JIm,
I read you post and I nodded my head, yes, yes, yes to everything you said. For a long time I have argued that ordination does not negate a man’s constructional rights. If I recall correctly St Paul demanded his rights as a citizen of Rome not to be crucified and was beheaded instead.

I think it is outrageous that priests are denied their constitutional rights as well as being robbed of not only their priesthood but the practice of their faith and its spiritual comforts by the unjust zero tollerance stance.

A dear priest friend was accused back in the early 90’s and while the young people who were his close friends and who spent a lot of time with him refused to believe the allegations and vehemently defended him, the archdiocese threw him away like old rubbish. The poor man had nowhere to turn since he refused to compromise his vow of obedience to the Archbishop.

He disappeared. His friends wept and searched for him but it wasn’t until his death several years later (from a broken heart I suspect) that we learned what had become of him.

After his death, his niece, who was not bound by a vow of obedience, tried to clear his name – in vain. The accusations were so vague and alledgedly happened so long ago there was no way to prove or disprove them. Additionally the archdiocese brushed her off and refused to cooperate. Eventually she gave up.

I will never believe his accusers but I hope for their sake they repent for I suspect it will not go well with them when they meet Jesus face to face on the day of their judgement.

Wow, Susan, it sounds like spiritual warfare indeed. In our western societies it is becoming the invisible curse that won’t go away. I can only join the many TSW supporters around the worldwide web,and pray for these faithful souls. I’ve just finished my mercy hour prayer and have included all Priests who are falsely accused,as well as other lay people in a similar situation.
God have mercy on those who ignore justice!

Priests are in my daily prayers, especially the Bishops, Cardinals and the Pope. Those who have allowed false accusations to remove good priests, will one day face the Almighty. They will have much to answer for. I wonder if this thought ever crosses their mind.
Claire

Fr. Jim, thank you for this very powerful post. You write well. I’m glad Fr. Gordon decided to post it. I am sorry that you falsely accused priests have been punished in such a truly awful way. It sounds like something that could have only happened in Soviet Russia or Nazi Germany. To have your very being ripped away from you. How can your identity as a priest be so mangled and twisted and torn apart, so disrespected and soiled. By powers totally beyond your control? And allowed and enabled by the very people you should naturally be able to look to for support.

When I was in college in the late 60’s, two of the most popular and effective priests on our college campus chose to leave the priesthood to marry classmates of mine. When I discovered about the first one, on a day that he met me in Washington, DC, on my way home from Africa in the Peace Corps, and told me he was “taking a leave of absence” (which at first I didn’t understand), I SCREAMED at him, “I HATE you.” I could not believe that anyone who had been given such a tremendous gift as that of the priesthood would willingly discard it. (And this priest has since divorced.)

This priest, whom I had formerly highly respected, was voluntarily throwing away his identity, the very core of his being, like it was NOTHING of value. And here you are, Fr. Jim, you and others like you, wanting with all your being to be what you ARE (the FACT will never change, despite what anyone says or does) and being denied it. Forcibly, with no recourse.

And what you say about accused priests living in their own flesh, the Passion of Jesus, is so powerful from your mouth. Because you KNOW and LIVE that Passion.

I wept while reading your post. You, and those who suffer injustice as you do, are now and ever in my prayers. We had the hubris to think we could achive perfect justice, hence the Zero Tolerance nonsense – an excuse to do away with thought and reason. God alone can mete out perfect justice, so we must ever err on the side of mercy (the ONLY way we’ll ever receive mercy – forgive as we’ve been forgiven….)

The bishops must stop listening to their lawyers and insurers, and humbly listen to Christ and his Holy Mother. Fraud committed as a result of this “abuse frenzy” needs to be investigated and prosecuted, someday, after we clear the good names of our dear priests!

How true Father Jim. I have a very close priest friend who just lived the last few years of his life in exactly the martyrdom you speak of. He never spoke a word accept to say he was innocent and otherwise suffered quietly. Thankfully and finally he was cleared of all accusations and has just now entered back into ministry. He is and always will be a true saint in my eyes and a martyr for the Church.

You have said it so perfectly Father Jim! I have tried to discuss this with priests here only to be blown off. No one will even talk about it as a homily or
write about it in a newsletter. I will not be discouraged in talking about it.
Every time abuse comes up I bring up the abuse of those like Fr, Gordon and you and point out Father’s blog…These Stone Walls. I share it every week on my Facebook page and i have 2 more people now following it.
The laity will do what the hierarchy refuses to do.The Holy Spirit is not an ostrich burying its head in the sand as the bishops do.He will prevail through those that take the Gospel seriously. God bless you all and i will continue to offer my Mass each day and I will now include you Father Jim. Love and prayers, Jeannie

To be honest, I think at least some of the clergy (worldwide) should be in jail for undermining this country through aiding and abetting illegal immigration. As far as abuse allegations go, I know at least two clergy who have been falsely accused and thanks be to God the allegations never went as far as trial or jail. I wouldn’t be surprised if every member of the clergy has been accused at one point or other, simply because greedy people exist and/or there is always someone with an ax to grind with regard to them personally or with regard to the Church.

Exactly, Fr. Jim, the falsely accused priests of our time are truly martyrs of our time. Thank you for writing this! The painful suffering of these falsely accused priest has to bring great gifts to our present Church. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through. It turns my stomach when I read details of how people have treated our dear priests who, as other Christs, should be exalted, but instead share in His passion. I do take comfort in the fact that you are a priest forever and the mark on your soul is permanent no matter what happens on earth. Thank you for your priesthood and may your reward be great in heaven. God bless you! (p.s. We will include you in our rosary intentions today.)